Online Anonymity.. Is it even stoppable?

The first words that come to mind when mentioning “online anonymity” are honesty, and accountability. Online anonymity can vary between good and bad. People believe anonymity is a good thing because of the fact that people can say what they believe without feeling judged by others, but on the other hand most people make the case that lack of accountability arises when people speak in an anonymous manner because it is so easy to create some sort of fake profile, and hide behind it.

Racist comments in my opinion will exist whether online anonymity exist or not, though we live in a multicultural society some people are raised to have racist opinions towards people of different ethnicity, and that is something anonymity will not fix because the humans raised that way will not see anything wrong with what they are saying about other cultures.  

When issues with gender arrive I think the most obvious example is catfishing, mostly because it has become some sort of world phenomena since its movie, and TV show based upon it. Catfishing is the art of creating a fake profile in order to play a joke on somebody. The most reason example of catfishing I have seen that brought worldwide media attention is Manti Te’o and his “girlfriend”. Manti Te’o was a linebacker at Notre Dame, who now plays in the NFL. During his time in Notre Dame Manti Te’o was tricked into falling in love with a fake woman created by a man known as Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the prank was then taken to a higher level when Te’o girlfriend “died”. This to me shows the lack of accountability that anonymity can bring into issues regarding gender, and how with anonymity gone this sort of situation would not exist.

The major point fighting the rights of anonymity is the fact that the Internet became what it is because of the capabilities of anonymity it had for their users. People feel that online anonymity is vital for the protection of freedom of expression, and although people such as parents have tried to shut that down, I believe there will always be a way for people to remain anonymous if they want to.

If I had it my way online anonymity would not exist, I think that with it gone the Internet would be a lot safer, and it would not be such a great cause for things like cyber bullying, and catfishing. But online anonymity will never disappear; people that are tech-savvy will always find a way to remain anonymous if they choose to because the Internet brings unlimited possibilities to anybody. 

This has been another blog on a more serious topic from your frog@mru